Archive for the ‘Abu Sufyan’ Category

The battle of Hunayn occurred after the victory of Makkah, in the month of Shawwal of the eighth year of Hijrah. After the Prophet conquered Makkah and things settled, most of its people embraced Islam and he set them free. News came to the Messenger of Allah that the tribe of Hawazin were gathering their forces to fight him, under the command of Malik bin `Awf An-Nadri, as well as, the entire tribe of Thaqif, the tribes of Banu Jusham, Banu Sa`d bin Bakr, a few people of Awza` from Banu Hilal and some people from Bani `Amr bin `Amir and `Awf bin `Amir. They brought their women, children, sheep and camels along, in addition to their armed forces and adequate supplies. The Messenger of Allah marched to meet them with the army that he brought to conquer Makkah, ten thousand from the Muhajirin, the Ansar and various Arab tribes. Along with them came the Tulaqa’ numbering two thousand men. The Messenger took them along to meet the enemy. The two armies met in Humayn, a valley between Makkah and At-Ta’if. The battle started in the early part of the morning, when the Huwazin forces, who were lying in ambush, descended on the valley when the Muslims entered. Muslims were suddenly struck by the ambush, the arrows descended on them and the swords struck them. The Huwazin commander ordered them to descend and attack the Muslims as one block, and when they did that, the Muslims retreated in haste, just as Allah described them. The Messenger of Allah remained firm in his position while riding his mule, Ash-Shahba’. He was leading his mule towards the enemy, while his uncle Al-`Abbas was holding its right-hand rope and ﴿his cousin﴾ Abu Sufyan bin Al-Harith bin `Abdul-Muttalib was holding the left rope. They tried to hold the mule back so it would not run faster toward the enemy. Meanwhile, the Messenger of Allah was declaring his name aloud and saying,

«إِلَيَّ عِبَادَ اللهِ إِلَيَ أَنَا رَسُولُ الله»

(O servants of Allah! Come back to me! I am the Messenger of Allah! He repeated these words,

«أَنَا النَّبِيُّ لَاكَذِبْ. أَنَا ابْنُ عَبْدِالْمُطَّلِب»

(I am the Prophet, not lying! I am the son of Abdul-Muttalib!) There remained between a hundred and eighty Companions with the Prophet . These included Abu Bakr, `Umar, Al-`Abbas, `Ali, Al-Fadl bin `Abbas, Abu Sufyan bin Al-Harith, Ayman the son of Umm Ayman and Usamah bin Zayd. There were many other Companions, may Allah be pleased with them. The Prophet commanded his uncle Al-`Abbas, whose voice was rather loud, to call at the top of his voice, “O Companions of the Samurah ﴿tree﴾” referring to the Muhajirin and Ansar who gave their pledge under the tree during the pledge of Ridwan, not to run away and retreat. He also called, “O Companions of Surat Al-Baqarah.” Upon hearing that, those heralded started saying, “Here we are! Here we are!” Muslims started returning in the direction of the Messenger of Allah . If the camel of one of them did not obey him (as the people were rushing to the other direction in flight) he would wear his shield and descend from his camel and rush to the side of the Messenger of Allah on foot. When a large crowd gathered around the Messenger of Allah , he commanded them to fight in sincerity and took a handful of sand and threw it in the faces of the disbelievers, after supplicating to Allah,

«أللّهُمَّ أَنْجِزْ لِي مَا وَعَدْتَنِي»

(O Allah! Fulfill Your promise to me!) Then he threw that handful of sand which entered the eyes and mouth of all the disbelievers, thus distracting them from fighting, and they retreated in defeat. The Muslims pursued the enemy, killing and capturing them. The rest of the Muslim army (returning to battle gradually) rejoined their positions and found many captured disbelieving soldiers kept tied before the Messenger of Allah .

When the Byzantine ruler Heraclius asked Abu Sufyan Sakhr bin Harb [RA] and his companions — who were still disbelievers and had not yet become Muslim ( at that time) — about the characteristics, lineage, honesty and trustworthiness of the Prophet , they could only tell the truth and admit that he was indeed noble and truthful.

The green valley of Yarmouk, with its large river and lush vegetation, is a place unknown and forgotten. Yet, it was here that we see the army of Islam display such valour and heroism that even those who disbelieved were reduced to tears when witnessing the honesty of the Muslims.

The year was 15 AH wherein Syria was ruled by the Roman emperor Heraclius, who on learning about the Muslims entering Syria became extremely frustrated. He failed to understand how an inferior army of the Muslims could challenge the mighty Roman Empire. However, indeed it was a man of his own kingdom who understood the reasons behind the victory of the Muslims. He explained:

“The morals of the Muslims are superior to ours. They pray at night and fast during the day. They do not oppress anyone. They regard themselves equal to others. We drink liquor, indulge in evil, do not keep our promises and oppress others. The result is that they are firm and enthusiastic in their ventures and we are weak and lax in what we do.”

The words of this man, who by no means was a Muslim, drove anger into the heart of Heraclius and he decided that he would never allow the Muslim army to get away from his clutches. He would swallow them like the tide when it comes in, taking everything and leaving nothing behind.

With this great rage, Heraclius sent his brother Tadharaq to lead the great army of 240,000 troops against the poorly equipped 3,000 Muslims. Heraclius’ army was both trained and well equipped, however this was fruitless without passion, and passion came from the Muslims – passion for Allah, passion for the Prophet (peace be upon him) and passion for the deen. The candle of faith was alive in the hearts of the Muslims. Their trust in Allah and love for the Prophet (peace be upon him) exceeded their love for worldly possessions, so much so that for them, even the entire force of Heraclius’ army would not cause them to grieve.

However, times did look bleak and the Muslims had to prepare for the worst. It was during this period, that Abu Ubaidah (May Allah be pleased with him) held mashwara (consultation) with the army. For every Muslim that was fighting, a force eight times greater was opposing him. It was therefore decided that the entire amount that the Jews and Christians had paid to the Muslims as Jizyah would be refunded back to them. Jizyah is a tax paid by the non-Muslims for protection. However protection could no longer be guaranteed. The honesty and trustworthiness shown by the Muslims brought tears to the inhabitants of Yarmouk, and on this day, the streets of Yarmouk were drowned by the sorrow of seeing such a civilised and great people leaving their vicinity. Yet Allah loves the honest, and as the Prophet (peace be upon him) has stated: “Remember, there is no faith in him who is not trustworthy; there is no place for him in religion who cares not for his pledged word or promise.”

The time drew close, and the two armies met. The situation was tense and each soldier was on guard. The Romans began by attempting to bribe the Muslim army, yet this was immediately rejected by Khalid bin Waleed (May Allah be pleased with him), who offered the Romans to accept Islam and pay the Jizyah, or settle on the sword. The arrogance of the Romans prevented them from accepting the light of guidance and they opted for the sword. However, amongst their midst stood a man who desired to learn about such an impressive religion – a religion that turned men who used to bury girls alive to those who displayed outstanding characteristics. He was Jurjah bin Budhiyah, a Roman general. After listening to Khalid bin Waleed (May Allah be pleased with him), he immediately accepted the truth and decided to side with the Muslim army. Thereafter, he fought against the Romans with such courage and valour that only a strong believer in the truth could produce such results. He finally fell as a martyr.

It was the Romans who had made the first move, with an attack by 40,000 soldiers, which the Muslim army immediately countered. The fight had begun: swords were striked, daggers swept from right to left, and arrows flew overhead. The Muslims called to Allah, and the words of Surah Al-Anfaal were recited to inspire the Muslim forces. Martial songs were sung to encourage the army and even women joined the masses, proving their worth as Mujaahidahs. The Muslims fought with such zeal and passion that the Romans began to retreat. The Romans were up against not humans, but the army of Allah, and no power invested in them could challenge such an army.

It is in Yarmouk that we witness the bravery of the fighters for Islam. Khalid bin Waleed, Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah, Shurabil bin Hasana, Yazid bin Abu Sufyan, Ikrimah bin Abu Jahl, Qa’qa bin Amr, Abu Sufyan, Abud-Darda, Amr bin ‘As, Harith bin Dirar and Jurjah bin Budhiyah (May Allah be pleased with them all) were at the forefront of the battle. Their heroic acts and abilities were beyond comparison as their swords swiped across in the blink of an eye.

To prevent the Romans from escaping, the generals were forced to chain their soldiers together. Day turned to night, yet the fighting continued. The Romans were failing, exhausted and tired; yet the spirit of Islam had not received even a dent. Fatigue and frustration settled into the midst of the Roman army, which continued to retreat until their backs were pushing against the mountain. Many soldiers then fell into the river, while others were killed, including Tadharaq. The result of truth versus falsehood was that 3,000 Muslims became martyrs and 100,000 Romans were destroyed. Amongst the Muslims who had been honoured with martyrdom were: Jurjah bin Bhudiyah, Ikrimah bin Abu Jahl, Amr bin Ikirimah, Salamah bin Hisham, Amr bin Saeed, Aban bin Saeed, Hisham bin Al-Aas, Habbar bin Sufyan and Tufail bin Amr (May Allah be pleased with them all).

This battle was a victory for the Muslims – a victory achieved by their trust in Allah. Verily, Allah does not fail those who believe in Him. The honesty and trustworthiness in the Muslims’ dealings and their desire to become martyrs for Islam were strong enough to resist even one of the most well-equipped and well-known armies in the world. Victory is strength, but not the strength of money or armour; rather it is the strength of the passion in one’s heart.

——-
This article may be reproduced on other sites freely, provided it is left intact in its entirety, and the leading “sunniforum.com” tag is NOT removed.
——-